Unit 8

Wireless access point (AP)

A device that connects to a wired network and provides access to that wired network for clients that wirelessly attach to the AP.

Independent basic service set (IBSS)

A WLAN can be created without the use of an AP. Such a configuration, called an IBSS, is said to work in an ad-hoc fashion. An ad hoc WLAN is useful for temporary connections between wireless devices. For example, you might temporarily interconnect two laptop computers to transfer a few files.

Decibel (dB)

A ratio of radiated power to a reference value. In the case of dBi, the reference value is the signal strength (that is, the power) radiated from an isotropic antenna, which represents a theoretical antenna that radiates an equal amount of power in all directions (in a spherical pattern). An isotropic antenna is considered to have gain of 0 dBi.

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)

A security standard for WLANs. With WEP, an AP is configured with a static WEP key. Wireless clients needing to associate with an AP are configured with an identical key (making this a preshared key [PSK] approach to security). The IEEE 802.11 standard specifies a 40-bit WEP key, which is considered to be a relatively weak security measure.

Service set identifier (SSID)

A string of characters that identifies a WLAN. APs participating in the same WLAN can be configured with identical SSIDs. An SSID shared among multiple APs is called an extended service set identifier (ESSID).

Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS)

Allows the participants in a communication to hop between predetermined frequencies. Security is enhanced because the participants can predict the next frequency to be used but a third party cannot easily predict the next frequency. FHSS can also provision extra bandwidth by simultaneously using more than one frequency.

802.11ac multiple input

An IEEE wireless networking standard operating in the 5GHz range, with increased throughput compared to previous WiFi IEEE standards.

Wireless router

Attaches to a wired network and provides access to that wired network for wirelessly attached clients, like a wireless AP. However, a wireless router is configured such that the wired interface that connects to the rest of the network (or to the Internet) is on a different IP network than the wireless clients. Typically, a wireless router performs NATing between these two IP address spaces.

War chalking

If an open WLAN (or a WLAN whose SSID and authentication credentials are known) is found in a public place, a user might write a symbol on a wall (or some other nearby structure) to let others know the characteristics of the discovered network. This practice, which is a variant of the decades-old practice of hobos leaving symbols as messages to fellow hobos, is called warchalking.

Enterprise mode

In the context of wireless networking, this refers to using a centralized authentication server such as RADIUS for authentication, instead of a pre-shared key (PSK).

Personal mode

In the context of wireless networking, this refers to using a pre-shared key (PSK) instead of a centralized server, such as RADIUS, for authentication.

Carrier sense multiple access collision avoidance (CSMA/CA)

Just as CSMA/CD is needed for half-duplex Ethernet connections, CSMA/CA is needed for WLAN connections because of their half-duplex operation. Similar to how an Ethernet device listens to an Ethernet segment to determine whether a frame exists on the segment, a WLAN device listens for a transmission on a wireless channel to determine whether it is safe to transmit. In addition, the collision-avoidance part of the CSMA/CA algorithm causes wireless devices to wait for a random backoff time before transmitting.

Multiple input multiple output (MIMO)

MIMO uses multiple antennas for transmission and reception. These antennas do not interfere with one another, thanks to MIMO's use of spatial multiplexing, which encodes data based on the antenna from which the data will be transmitted. Both reliability and throughput can be increased with MIMO's simultaneous use of multiple antennas.

Direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS)

Modulates data over an entire range of frequencies using a series of symbols called chips. A chip is shorter in duration than a bit, meaning that chips are transmitted at a higher rate than the actual data. These chips not only represent encoded data to be transmitted, but also what appears to be random data. Because both parties involved in a DSSS communication know which chips represent actual data and which chips do not, if a third-party intercepted a DSSS transmission, it would be difficult for that party to eavesdrop on the data because he would not easily know which chips represented valid bits. DSSS is more subject to environmental factors, as opposed to FHSS and OFDM, because it uses an entire frequency spectrum.

Omnidirectional antenna

Radiates power at relatively equal power levels in all directions (somewhat similar to the theoretical isotropic antenna). Omnidirectional antennas are popular in residential WLANs and SOHO locations.

802.11b

Ratified in 1999, this standard supports speeds as high as 11 Mbps. However, 5.5 Mbps is another supported data rate. The 802.11b standard uses the 2.4-GHz band and the DSSS transmission method.

802.11a

Ratified in 1999, this standard supports speeds as high as 54 Mbps. Other supported data rates (which can be used if conditions are not suitable for the 54-Mbps rate) include 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 Mbps. The 802.11a standard uses the 5-GHz band and the OFDM transmission method.

802.11g

Ratified in 2003, this standard supports speeds as high as 54 Mbps. Like 802.11a, other supported data rates include 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 Mbps. However, like 802.11b, 802.11g operates in the 2.4-GHz band, which allows it to offer backward compatibility to 802.11b devices. 802.11g can use either the OFDM or DSSS transmission method.

802.11n

Ratified in 2009, this standard supports a variety of speeds, depending on its implementation. Although the speed of an 802.11n network could approach 300 Mbps (through the use of channel bonding), many 802.11n devices on the market have speed ratings in the 130 to 150-Mbps range. Interestingly, an 802.11n WLAN can operate in the 2.4-GHz band, the 5-GHz band, or both simultaneously. 802.11n uses the OFDM transmission method.

Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)

The Wi-Fi Alliance (a nonprofit organization formed to certify interoperability of wireless devices) developed its own security standard to address the weaknesses of Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). This new security standard was called Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) Version 1.

Unidirectional antenna

Unidirectional antennas can focus their power in a specific direction, thus avoiding potential interference with other wireless devices and perhaps reaching greater distances than those possible with omnidirectional antennas. One application for unidirectional antennas is interconnecting two nearby buildings.

Wi-Fi Protected Access Version 2 (WPA2)

Uses Counter Mode with Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol (CCMP) for integrity checking and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) for encryption. These algorithms enhance the security offered by WPA.

Extended service set (ESS)

WLANs containing more than one AP are called ESS WLANs. Like BSS WLANs, ESS WLANs operate in infrastructure mode. When you have more than one AP, take care to prevent one AP from interfering with another. Specifically, nonoverlapping channels (that is, channels 1, 6, and 11 for the 2.4-GHz band) should be selected for adjacent wireless coverage areas.

Basic service set (BSS)

WLANs that have just one AP are called BSS WLANs. BSS WLANs are said to run in infrastructure mode because wireless clients connect to an AP, which is typically connected to a wired network infrastructure. A BSS network is often used in residential and SOHO locations, where the signal strength provided by a single AP is sufficient to service all of the WLAN's wireless clients.

Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)

Whereas DSSS uses a high modulation rate for the symbols it sends, OFDM uses a relatively slow modulation rate for symbols. This slower modulation rate, combined with the simultaneous transmission of data over 52 data streams, helps OFDM support high data rates while resisting crosstalk between the various data streams.

Channel bonding

With channel bonding, two wireless bands can be logically bonded together, forming a band with twice the bandwidth of an individual band. Some literature refers to channel bonding as 40-MHz mode, which refers to the bonding of two adjacent 20-MHz bands into a 40-MHz band.